Anyone driving through downtown Jamestown has likely seen a crane outside the DoubleTree by Hilton on Fourth Street.

The crane is installing new windows made by local company D&S Glass in the building. Company employees will continue installing the new windows as long as the temperature is above 40 degrees and winds are below 20 miles an hour.

Mayor Sam Teresi noted earlier this year the sight of cranes throughout downtown is a sign that good things are happening. In this case, a multi-million dollar project with several different sources of local funding is not only revitalizing a long-vacant building, but providing jobs to local residents.

As Mike LaTone, D&S Glass owner, told The Post-Journal’s Dennis Phillips, the decision by the Hamister Group to give the work to a local company meant a big contract for a local employer who then had to add two employees to get the job done. LaTone said similar help was needed when D&S Glass had big orders for projects at Lutheran and UPMC Chautauqua WCA.

This is the type of ripple effect that needs to happen as projects pop up downtown. It is important for the local economy that as much of the work on these projects ends up in the hands of local companies as possible.